Journey Through Time
by Poddyful
Summary: NarutoxSakuraxSasuke. Seven years ago, after Sasuke left, Naruto and Sakura made a pact. Now Team Seven are roaming the shinobi world as missing nins...but then the Anbus interfere...slight swearing.
1. Journey Through Time

Journey Through Time

Genre: Angst

Warnings: Angst (well, I tried, anyway)…swearing...big emotional bit at the end (I hope)

Pairings: Naruto x Sasuke x Sakura.

Summary: Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are 19, and they are roaming around the shinobi world as missing nins, but get caught by Anbus…

Author's notes: Well, this fic is supposed to dark, and then emotional towards the end…and then I'm gunna wreck the atmosphere the next chapter, probably (hopefully not)…

Plan: Wow! I actually have a plan! Well, this fic is going to go:

-Chapter one: The baseline of the story

-Chapter two: After the Kinjutsu- Naruto

-Chapter three: After the Kinjutsu- Sakura

-Chapter five: After the Kinjutsu- Sasuke

Above chapters will all be dark.

And then we'll see if anyone wants me to continue it…but not unless I get more than 5 reviews…because…just because…I know I'm not that good, but I need encouragement…so I can pretend that I'm good…It's like those kindy-scissors, you know? The ones that you can't cut anything with, but they help you think you know how to cut…

Well, anyways…I've _planned_ a sequel…it's like, Team Seven comes back to when they were little, but slightly less cold towards everyone else…you'll see what I mean when I finish the other three chapters. And then you can decided if you want the other one...

Hope you enjoy…

* * *

Journey through Time

By Iris.D

Chapter One

* * *

Their breath fogged up in hazy white fumes as they panted with exhaustion and pain.

Thunder clouds hung heavily over their heads, the occasional rumble of thunder and crack of lightning disturbed the loud pattering of the rain, which poured down mercilessly and slicked their path of branches with liquid.

None of the trio spoke, but kept their energy on watching each other's backs.

Suddenly, without warning, a sharp shuriken plunged itself deep inside the stomach of the boy to the left. He gagged and spat out blood.

"Dobe!" yelled the boy who was leading.

The pink-haired girl swiftly ducked behind the raven haired boy and checked on Naruto.

Sasuke glared at the Konoha Anbu.

"Do I know you?" he asked, his voice barely audible over the thundering of the rain.

The Anbu paused for a moment, but didn't answer.

Sasuke took that as a no.

"Tsukiyomi"

The Anbu slumped onto the ground.

With practiced ease, the Uchiha immediately flipped back into the formation and led the way, Sharingan blazing in the darkness of the dawn.

After a couple minutes, Sasuke's eyes narrowed. His left hand instinctively raised itself and signaled to Sakura that there was a small clearing up ahead- not much use, but chakra depletion was not an option.

They veered course, the Uzumaki's vision blurring every few seconds.

Sakura said nothing, but moved closer to Naruto just in case.

"We're here" Sasuke announced, not bothering to glance back, though he knew that Sakura did not have enough chakra to heal. Naruto would heal soon enough on his own, anyway. The Kyuubi would never let his host die. Not that easily.

They landed lightly on the dead ground, mud swirling around their toes and withered branches blowing with the harsh wind. Sasuke looked around with his blood red eyes. No enemy within a one hundred mile radius.

Sakura gives him a flat look. Sasuke shook his head. He was not turning off his Sharingan in case they were attacked. He instead looked down at Naruto, who was leaning against Sakura's slim frame, hands clutching a wound that was steadily seeping through what remained of the black cloth and onto his hands, washing and soaking into the ground, where it mixed with the mud.

He closed his eyes and gave a dry smile to the heavens. Sasuke frowned but said nothing. Nothing needed to be said. They were a team. Friends. Family. They trusted each other and depended on each other.

Seven years ago, Sasuke left Konoha to seek for power with a snake sennin. He did not regret it, and he would do it a second time given the choice. He needed to kill Itachi. For killing his friends, relatives. Parents. Mother did nothing wrong.

When Naruto left for his three years of training with Jiraiya, Sakura had been training with Tsunade. They had a pact. When Naruto returned from his three years of training, he and Sakura would both be powerful. They both had the potential. Then they would leave the village and become missing-nins. And join Sasuke.

They did just that.

They have been hunted down by Konoha Anbu countless times. Sometimes Naruto still has nightmares. He wakes up screaming in the middle of the night.

Because some of the Anbus he knew.

Naruto still couldn't forget the feeling of killing Kiba- feeling the blood drench his arms as his Rasengan plunged through the Inuzuka's stomach.

The mutt boy had given him a look, right before he died. One that showed his disappointment. The he spoke.

"I'm sorry…Naruto. If you…ever…see Hinata…can you…" Kiba coughed weakly, but forced himself to continue, "can you tell…her…that…I lo-loved her? Thanks…bye, dobe….Nice to s-see you after…a…all these y-years, eh?"

And then he had smiled. It was a smile that reached the blonde's heart. And he sat there for hours, motionless, watching the smile frozen onto the boy's face as tears rolled down his own cheeks.

Sakura still hadn't gotten over killing Ino. Her last words and the kill itself had left her in a daze for days.

"Hey…forehead girl…look wh-what I gotcha…" Ino's hand trembled violently as her hand reached inside her pockets, her head resting on the Haruno's lap.

She pulled out a Cosmos flower, miraculously in full bloom.

"He…hehe…you're favourite flower, eh? You've gone into full bloom now…you've …you've surpassed me…good job…he…he…I knew th-that that…huge forehead…of…yours would getcha…some…some…" she trailed off in mid-sentence, the life drained out of her.

"Ino…"

As for Sasuke, he held no regrets over killing Shino and Neji. It had to be done. The other two understood.

His most important goal in life has already been achieved: he had killed his brother. There was no more purpose for in the world. But he that he had family, he was going to stay.

"Teme!" Naruto shouted, whipping out a kunai to deflect the one flying towards Sasuke. Sasuke immediately whirled around. Now was not the time to be daydreaming and going all nostalgic over some shit that happened in the past.

He channeled more chakra into his Sharingan. And swore loudly.

"Naruto…" he started in a weary voice. This was not happening. Not now. Not after they have escaped all these long years.

Naruto looked over at him wordlessly, his eyes clouding over with pain. Sakura limped over from where she had been examining the surrounding area and looked, without prompting, at Naruto's stomach wound. She closed her eyes and tried to feel the amount of chakra she had left.

Not enough, but Naruto's wound could go untreated. She didn't need to wait for Naruto's approval before she gently pried the shuriken out of the boy's guts. Fresh blood spilled out and Naruto barely hissed at the pain. He looked down at her hand, a green glow held soothingly over the near-fatal wound. His breathing eased up a bit.

"Yes, Sasuke?" he answered.

Sasuke's eyes lowered.

"We're surrounded by Anbu. We can't escape now."

As if on cue, twenty to thirty Anbu appeared around them in a tight circle.

"Fuck off, we're not going without a fight" Naruto snarled out of habit. Although it was not visible through their masks, it was obvious that most of them were smirking.

"We'll see" said one of them, leaping up into the air.

"Wait!" a familiar voice cried. The Anbu scowled through his mask, but backed off.

The person who had called out hesitantly stepped forward.

"Who the fuck are you?" Naruto growled.

A hand reached up to pull the mask off his face. It was Iruka.

Naruto's face melted into one of pure surprise, tears finding its way into his eyes.

"I-Iruka…sensei…" he stuttered. Another Anbu walked out and stood next to the academy teacher. He also took off his mask.

It was Sakura who spoke this time.

"Kaka-sensei" she whispered. His eyes were heavily shadowed, and his cheek bones were heavily outlined. His expression was one of sorrow.

The rain stopped and no one spoke for a while. Iruka decided to break the silence. It was now or never.

"Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke…I'm begging you to give me the answer I want…will…" Iruka suddenly found it very hard to speak. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"Will you come back to Konoha with us, please?" he asked quietly, earnestness shining in his eyes. A fesh wave of tears fell from Naruto's cerulean eyes.

The way Iruka sensei was begging them is nearly breaking Naruto's heart. But he couldn't. He couldn't abandon Sasuke or Sakura. They are his family. He couldn't betray family.

He looked over at the other two.

Sasuke was giving glares to the Anbus present, making it very clear what his answer was. Iruka sensei looked hopefully at him. Sakura studied the Uchiha's expression, then the Uzumaki's. Her eyes blanked.

"I'm sorry, Umino-san, but it seems that none of us want to. Perhaps you may want to go now and report that to the Kage of Konoha." She said flatly.

Iruka's closed his eyes as tears ran down his cheeks.

"No.."

Kakashi looked at him out of the corners of his eyes. He took a step forward.

"Stop!...Naruto! Sakura-chan! Sasuke! Why…?" he asked, his voice choking with emotion. Naruto answered him.

"Do you…remember what it is like to have family, Iruka-sensei?" he asked quietly. Iruka's eyes reflected those of an abandoned puppy.

"Yes…" he whispered, trying not to let the memories of the day Kyuubi attacked resurface.

"Well, you know this…but I've never had a family. And then one day I was put into team seven. A-and…we did missions- D-rank missions, like weeding the garden and chasing some stupid old lady's cat…those were boring jobs, sure, but I felt content doing it…because I like being with my precious people.

And then after Orochimaru attacked Sasuke in the chuunin exams, and Sasuke left to gain power to kill Itachi, Team Kakashi…no, Team Seven was broken up. We were incomplete, ya know?

And then Jiraiya took me for the three-year training. Sakura-chan stayed in Konoha to train with Tsunade-baa-chan. And…and Team Seven was broken up even more. And…and…and…we all wanted to be with each other again. Otherwise…"

Naruto broke off into sobs, unable to continue.

Sakura took over, her own eyes glistening.

"Iruka-sensei…did you know…what Sasuke said to me, before he left or the sound?

I was still the silly little girl that had a huge crush on Sasuke-kun…and I thought that I loved him- I loved him more than anyone else. And that was true…because…because…Team Seven was…is a family. We cannot live without each other...we love each other more than anything else…and Sasuke told me…just before he left…he told me…" Sakura found her throat constricted. She swallowed.

Sasuke pulled her close, and rubbed her back slowly.

His voice was warmer, yet sadder than when he usually spoke.

"Sakura was the first girl who's cared for me. When we were little…she cared about me in a way the other girls didn't. Couldn't.

Then the day I was leaving for Sound…she came and stopped me. She didn't want me to go…she needed me here beside her…and Naruto. And…the only thing I told her was…thank you…"

Naruto moved in closer, and pressed against the other two, his head resting in the crook of Sasuke's neck and his chest pressed against Sakura's shoulders.

Several Anbus fought to control their own tears, and Iruka sank to the ground, his face in his hands, sobbing.

Kakashi's face was emotionless, and he took another step forward.

Sasuke's eyes met his and they studied each other for a while. Kakashi's hand drew out a sharp kunai.

Sasuke's eyes closed briefly.

"Hatake Kakashi…" he paused, "no, Kakashi-sensei. Remember the bell test?" the raven-haired boy asked quietly,

"The bell test?" the jounin echoed softly. Sasuke nodded.

"Do you remember what you said to us, Kakashi-sensei, at our first try?"

Kakashi did indeed remember.

"People who don't follow the rules are trash, but people who abandon their comrades are lower than trash" he recited. He looked up at Sasuke, his eyes cleared for a moment, before it dulled.

"Yes…and that has nothing to do with our current situation. Hokage-sama ordered us, that if we could not bring you back, to kill you." With that, Kakashi lunged forward at an inhumane speed.

Iruka cried out.

"No!"…but it was too late.

The kunai slipped neatly into Naruto's heart as he dashed forward to block his family from harm. A strangled cry echoed around the clearing, before an unearthly scream overtook it. Naruto found his hands moving on its own.

And the Kinjutsu took its effect.


	2. All Over Again

Hi guys…I've just changed my mind. This one will be a multiple chapter story as soon as I finish all of my other stories…so yeah…the chapters didn't actually go as I planned…so…uh…mm…

The people thing just has to change as well…you see, I was typing and typing and daydreaming…when I went: oh crap! This is supposed to be a Naruto-centred chapter…so…mm…

Well…I said it was meant to be dark…but I just CAN'T write stuff like that…I hope you understand…because I just suck at writing sad stuff, I think…?

Well, I tried…

And thank you to the people who put this story on alert, though I can't it's a real surprise that no one reviewed…I read over the first chapter when I was awake and realised how weird it sounded…ah well!

In these next few chapters, they might seem a bit colder, because in the last chapter, they were getting desperate. Now they're just fierce, cold, emotionless etc etc etc missing-nins stuck in their twelve year old body. Oh…but they relax around each other…

* * *

_Chapter Two_

_All Over Again_

_-Iris.D_

* * *

His cold blue eyes flickered, studying his reflection in the mirror.

His bright shock of blonde hair, coupled with the dull blue-grey eyes now no longer matched the look of his twelve-year old naiveness.

His mouth, so often curved up in a dazzling smile, now harmonised perfectly with the icy demeanour that radiated off him.

The clothes he wore hung loosely on his little form, and although the wound in his stomach is now healed, the shirt was soaking with blood. He was angry. Angrier than he had ever been.

At Kakashi-sensei…no, at Hatake-san. He attacked his precious people. Naruto had no idea what he was thinking, but it was unjustified.

He looked over his little twelve year old form. Baby fat- check. Flat teeth- check. Normal nails- check. Pale cheek whiskers- check. Weapon Holster still in the old place- check. Come to think of it…

He idly picked up one of his kunai, looking over it. Nicks, nicks and more nicks. And blunt. It was made with poor metal- probably not even suitable for cutting plastic. He gave it an experimental hurl at the wall. It hit the wall and fell harmlessly onto the floor. He snorted.

At least the kin-jutsu worked. He turned around and looked out the window.

Pathetic, he couldn't even sense the Anbu on the opposite roof. Judging by his stance, he even had a lot of chakra.

He examined the rest of his weapons critically, before chucking away the lot. Even if he had tried to use it, then amount of energy he had now, he would be lucky to throw the kunai twenty metres, let alone hurt someone.

He glanced in his cupboard for a change of clothing, cringing in disgust when he saw the bright orange. He grimaced, walking towards the window.

"Oi, Hyuuga! Getcha ass over here!" he yelled at the Anbu, feeling marginally more satisfied when the Anbu twitched, but came over.

"What makes you think I'm a Hyuuga?" the Anbu asked stiffly.

"Bird mask. Bird-cage seal. I guess I'm also right in saying that you're a branch house member" Naruto pointed out. Without waiting for the Hyuuga to answer, he continued.

"Do you think you can take me to the old man's office? I got something to ask him, and I need it to be quick."

The Anbu was about to answer back, Naruto challenged him.

"Wait a second…I guess you're under _strict orders_ to do what I ask, huh?" he said, smiling in an innocent manner. The Anbu growled once again, before grabbing the boy by the scruff of his neck, and speeding off towards the Hokage's office, impatient for his shift to end.

Naruto stopped the Anbu outside the Hokage's window.

Before the branch-house knew what he was doing, Naruto crashed through the Hokage's window, loudly announcing his arrival.

"Old man, I gotta word with you" he said loudly. Sarutobi smiled kindly at the boy, ignoring the outraged Anbu outside, and invited the boy to sit down.

"Yes, Naruto, what seems to be your problem?"

Naruto studied the kind, wrinkled face, and wise demeanour. He missed him. Without warning, he launched himself at the Hokage, catching him in a passionate hug. Sarutobi was confused, but he smiled.

After a while Naruto pulled back, and plopped down onto the seat opposite the Hokage's.

"Well, anyways, down to business. I haven't been getting my welfare check for a couple of months now; do you think it's possible to get it for me, all the ones that I've missed?" Naruto asked. The elderly Hokage frowned and nodded.

Naruto was about to continue, when he realised that he couldn't get anything from the shops, as the villagers didn't like him all that much.

"Um…and if possible, can you buy some stuff for me with my money?" the blonde asked angelically.

"What kind of 'stuff'?"

"Three sets of kunais, five sets of shuriken, 10 sets of explosive tags, all three sizes, 2 sets of black standard ninja uniform, and can you please make sure that they're all in good condition?"

Naruto tried to list all he could remember. It was then that the Hokage saw the state of Naruto's clothing.

"Naruto, have you been fighting?"

"Uh…uh…" Naruto shifted uncomfortably, "nope…I…gotta go, see you later!"

With that, he skipped out of the window and started jumping on roofs back to his apartment.

The Hokage frowned once again. _When had Naruto learned to do that? _

* * *

Naruto decided to just wear what he used to wear, to avoid suspicion, trying not to retch at his reflection.

Not bothering with breakfast, he closed the door to his apartment, and quickly made his way to academy.

On his way he saw Sasuke, who in turn turned and glared at him, for old times sake. He flinched when he saw Naruto's clothing, and he did not hesitate to make it a known fact.

"Urgh"

"Shut up teme! Better than your duck-butt hair anyway" Naruto retorted, as he slung an arm around Sasuke. Sasuke allowed a ghost of a smile to grace his face. Several squeals were heard somewhere off into the distance, but they were ignored.

"That was a pretty powerful kinjutsu, but why were you so sure that it worked?" the Uchiha asked quietly.

"Kyuubi is powerful, and I'm too stubborn to let you guys die" Naruto replied.

It was not a satisfactory answer, but Sasuke let it slide. He understood anyway.

"Oi dobe!" came an annoying voice. Naruto was just about to yell back that no one else can call him dobe apart from Sasuke, but he froze when he realised who it was. He spun around and leapt at the Inuzuka, rubbing cheeks affectionately.

"Kiba! You're here again! I can't believe it! Did you know how much I missed you?" Naruto yelled. Kiba looked at him weirdly, shook him off, and ran away.

Naruto laughed, and Sasuke smirked.

Naruto's eyes softened. "I killed him…"

A sharp slap from the Uchiha boy brought him back to reality.

"It's the past already, dobe"

­

* * *

"Sasuke, Naruto?" Sakura asked cautiously, when they arrived at class.

Naruto grinned broadly. "Sakura-chan! I was so worried that it didn't work properly and that I left you behind and-"

He was silenced by a sharp smack to the head.

She smiled. "So, it worked, no worries now…I…Ino…?"

Said girl looked at her indifferently, then spotted Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun!" she squealed, latching herself onto the Uchiha's arm. Sakura smiled fondly, and hugged Ino form behind.

"Ino…you have no idea how much I missed you…" she murmured. Ino was confused. Sasuke shook both of them off, before sitting down beside the window, Naruto right beside him.

"Come on, Sakura-chan, class is about to start." Naruto chirped. Sakura sat down. The entire class was confused. Were those three on drugs or something? They were acting so different…

The Iruka came in, and Naruto's eyes watered. Sakura's eyes glazed slightly, and Sasuke's eye's hardened a little.

Naruto was about to launch himself at Iruka, but Iruka turned to stare right at him, his eyes widening.

"Naruto, a word, outside, please" Iruka said. Naruto flipped out of his seat and followed the dolphin outside.

As soon as they were outside, Iruka pulled Naruto into a tight hug.

"Did it work?" he asked. He figured that the blond would answer if he knew what he was talking about. When he felt Naruto nod against his chest, his eyes teared up with relief.

"Good…you have…no idea how…worried…I was…" Iruka sobbed.

Naruto was confused. How did Iruka-sensei know...?

"Iruka sensei…was…" a sudden realisation struck him, "Kyuubi's chakra was so powerful that it spread?" he asked.

Iruka 'shh'ed Naruto and nodded.

"Naruto…don't leave Konoha this time…please"

Naruto faltered and his eyes shadowed. "That would be up to Sasuke-teme".

The door slid open to reveal the other two members of the former team seven. After a quick hug to Sakura, and a polite nod to Sasuke, he spoke, timidly.

"Sasuke…I want to ask you a question" Iruka almost grimaced at the painfully familiar words.

Sasuke grunted.

"Sasuke, don't leave Konoha this time…please…you've already conquered your brother…?" Iruka pleaded quietly.

Sasuke looked at his teacher, his eyes flashing briefly. He considered his words carefully.

"I'm afraid that that's just not possible" he answered. Iruka's eyes widened. Naruto's heart wrenched at the sight of how frail and emotionally unstable Iruka had become after he left. Sakura's eyes dropped to the floor.

"W-why, Sasuke?" Iruka asked miserably. Sasuke eye's narrowed as he looked at the wall.

"When I killed my brother last time, Orochimaru had already inhabited my body. He didn't give me a choice. There were a few questions I wanted to ask , but he didn't give me a chance. I only managed to force him out of my body when the emotions from seeing Sakura and Naruto overpowered him. By that time, it was too late. This time, I want to know."

Iruka nodded dejectedly. He was going to lose all three of them all over again. Naruto was torn between going with Sasuke and staying with Iruka.

Then he got a bright idea.

"I know, Iruka-sensei…why don't you come with us?"

Three pairs of eyes immediately landed on him.

Iruka looked down at his feet and shook his head. "I shouldn't interrupt on family…" he whispered quietly, turning to go back inside, doing a quick henge to cover up his tears.

The trio stared after him without a word.

"Iruka-sensei…" Sakura whispered despondently.

"You two have grown as emotionally unstable as him" was Sasuke's comments as he headed back inside as well.

* * *

"…team seven, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke…" Sakura ignored the angry hisses directed towards her. Here, Iruka took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling before he continued. Sasuke chanced a glance at the other two before snorting silently. They were every bit as guilty as Iruka would've made them. That dumbass.

Sasuke wondered how people would react if he used a chakra enhanced punch to knock them out because they were trying to kill Naruto and Sakura.

After the fifth venomous glare at his pink haired team-mate and the eleventh near-punches that have been thrown at Naruto, Sasuke decided to put an end to it.

"Look, I don't know what the fuck you want, but if you dare touch any of my team mates again, you probably wouldn't be alive to see your new jounin-sensei, got it, you fucking piece of shit?" he growled, eyes ablaze with Sharingan. The boy backed away, and, when he got out of punching distance, turned around and ran.

Sakura had a sudden thought when the jealous crowd dispersed.

"If Iruka sensei was brought back…then does that mean…_he_'s brought back as well…?" she wondered timidly aloud.

Naruto's eyes darkened into a deep amethyst, and Sasuke's brightened into a bright crimson. The blond found himself surprised.

"Kyuubi's already freed!" he whispered. He quickly lifted up his shirt and checked. A small, relieved smile crept up into his eyes.

Sakura's head met her hands as she groaned. "You two should be grateful that some of your powers are back. I still have to train like hell to get mine."

"At least you know the basics now…"

Sasuke turned his head sharply, as did Naruto, who had been spending the past few minutes experimenting with his chakra and how far he can go.

"He's here"

The classroom door slid open.

The sharp blue eyes fixed upon the jounin with strong killing intent.

"You're late, Kakashi-_sensei_" Naruto said flatly in time with the other two members of the original team seven.

* * *

Righteo…tell me what you thought of this chapter? Puh-lease//puppy dog eyes no jutsu!//…please…?

Thanks for reading anyway!


	3. Reminiscing

I did a little play on words at the start (man I sound so old fashioned saying that for some reason hahaha), and I changed the saying a little…to fit…

* * *

Someone once said 'silence is gold'. Kakashi idly wondered if it was mistaken from 'silence is _c_old', because that was certainly the case right now. The four have found themselves stuck in the class room with no idea what so ever on what to say.

Naruto broke the ice first, red chakra leaking out if his body like a faucet with holes. Kakashi's expression did not falter.

"How dare you…" he growled.

"I was acting on orders" Kakashi defended quietly. The blonde froze.

"Tsunade-baa chan…" he whispered. Sasuke's brows furrowed, while Sakura looked just as dumbfounded as Naruto.

"Shishou…wouldn't do that" Sakura spoke up.

Kakashi shook his head. "No, The Hokage changed about two years after you two left" he nodded at Naruto and Sakura.

"Then who is it?" Sasuke asked, getting annoyed.

"I believe Neji-kun was officially appointed the youngest Hokage to have ever reigned in Konoha" Kakashi replied dully. The trio froze.

"The Hyuuga" Sakura growled.

"We weren't going to do Konoha any harm" Sasuke spoke out, eyes narrowing. Kakashi shrugged.

"I still can't believe you, Kakashi sensei. I can't believe you for attacking us." Naruto whispered angrily.

Another few minutes of silence.

"In that case, sensei, I want to ask you a few things. Answer them truthfully" Sakura said, voice growing slightly colder.

Kakashi's lone visible eye flicked over to her.

"Why?"

"I want to test your state of mind"

Kakashi's eyes lidded.

Her voice shook as she spoke. "What rank were you before you became our jounin-sensei?"

Kakashi's face remained blank, as did his voice. "Anbu captain"

Naruto's red chakra slowly seeped back into his body. Sasuke's Sharingan was still blazing, however- just in case Kakashi decided to try anything foolish.

"What did you think about our genin team and your success as our jounin sensei?"

"I thought I was a failure. The only team I passed, and all three of them left my hands, and after that they left the village to become nuke-nins."

Sakura's emerald eyes softened slightly. Sasuke's expression didn't change, but Naruto faltered. His body slumped and his golden hair wilted.

"Was there any other reason you tried to…kill…us apart from the order of the Hokage?"

Kakashi hesitated for a second. Sasuke's hand strayed to his kunai holster. When the Hatake finally spoke, his voice shook.

"To put it bluntly, I went insane. My mind couldn't handle the stress of all the years of Anbu, team 7 becoming missing nins, and my…past. I lived in a haze, and my body just followed my years of practice as a ninja. I became a robot."

Naruto froze. How can he blame him now?

"But are you still insane now? Will there be a danger of you suddenly going crazy and killing us?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi smiled. "No"

The chorus of "Huh?" made him smile even wider.

"What-"

"When I was transported back in time, Naruto's jutsu wasn't powerful to contain us all, and in order to get everyone through the…portal of time, something had to be sacrificed, and since I was the last to go through, I sacrificed my insanity."

Naruto sweatdropped.

"That sounds…kinda weird…" he said. Kakashi shrugged.

"That's just how it is"

Sakura relaxed. "Good, now what?"

Kakashi thought for a moment.

"Well, we don't have much to do now, so I'll pass you all, and we'll meet in the usual place 8:00 tomorrow. Don't be late"

Four 'poof's sounded through the chakra smoke filled room.

* * *

The Sandaime didn't move for quite a while. He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, and leaned back wearily into his chair, fingering his crystal ball.

What was that all about?

How did Naruto-kun know Tsunade?

How does team seven all seem to know each other?

Why does nothing they say seem to make sense?

Transported back in time?

Sarutobi sighed and dispelled any left over chakra the crystal ball was still channeling.

There were no chakra signatures around. The Sandaime opened his drawer, tapped a little chakra into the bottom, and it slid open to reveal a stash of sake.

He really needed it.

* * *

The first place Naruto went to was Ichiraku. His mouth watered as he neared it.

_I haven't had these in years… _

He landed down on the ground and waved cheerily at the Anbu who was watching him. It was a different one to this morning. Then he stiffened.

He knew that Anbu- cat mask, painted in blue, a shock of bottle green hair peeking above the ceramic face.

It was the first one he killed.

The blonde felt his appetite wane, and decided to head back to his apartment instead.

* * *

Sasuke had nowhere in particular to go. He didn't want to go to…_that_ place. Where _he_ murdered them.

His eyes settled on where the fifth hokage's head used to be, and to the place next too it, where Ne- _the Hyuuga _must have had his face carved as well. He snorted.

The sky was starting to darken, the sun slowly dropping under the black line of horizon. The last Uchiha sighed mentally, and decided that patience was something he already used up back at the confrontation in the classroom.

He launched a kunai into the bushes to his right, which was the source of the loud squeals, and walked down a random street in Konoha, trying to ignore the squeals, which had increased in volume because Sasuke-kun had chucked a kunai their way!

The sigh in his brain took a physical form as he jumped onto the roof of some poor, unsuspecting villager's small house.

* * *

Sakura, with no particular home to go to either, walked slowly to team seven's usual training ground. This is where team Kakashi had their first bell test a few years ago. She had hidden in that spot over there, under the trees. And the genjutsu that Kakashi had tricked her with happened over there…

And that's where…where…

...she had trained with Kakashi sensei before she left. The place where he taught her how to find out her chakra type.

Where she found out that she didn't actually have any.

The reason she started to train seriously under the only female sennin. She was born a medic nin.

She was born to heal.

But by the time she and Naruto had gone to look for Sasuke, she still hadn't yet mastered to perfection the art of healing inner pain.

They could heal their own, or mask it with their lack of emotions, and she was still one step behind.

Always one step behind.

She sat down on the ground, leaning against the stump that, during her absence, probably would have grown into a handsome tree, and started to meditate.

* * *

Door still on its hinges? -check.

Windows still secure? –check.

Cupboard still in place? –check.

The neighbours were probably out at another village or something…although; the lead that Naruto had carefully placed in the metal of the door was snapped.

Someone had been in his apartment.

"Ah well…tadaima!!!" He called out loudly to the stillness. His hands strayed casually to his kunai holster.

"It's the demon?" someone whispered. Naruto assumed that the answer was affirmative, as the next voice said, "Then let's get him!"

Naruto sighed out loud as a group of four or five men charged at him, each brandishing a knife of some sort. The blonde seriously doubted that the man on the far right has enough strength to actually drive the kiwi-knife into human flesh, and was about to tell him so, before he sensed another few presences behind him.

He dodged to the left, and threw a kunai deftly at the hidden camera. A small flash of red light signified that it was on. Naruto smiled.

"Hey, everyone…did you know that senbons can immobilise people?"

* * *

Sarutobi sighed tiredly again. Where was the Hyuuga Anbu when Naruto needed him the most? He was going to get fired tomorrow.

**But Naruto didn't _need_ help. **

The pile of unconcious people lying outside naruto's front door with senbons in their necks demonstarted that perfectly well.

He leaned backwards into his chair, and opened the bottom drawer of his desk.

Naruto had taken of that perfectly…

Where did he learn all this??

_Perhaps time would tell_…

He chuckled wearily at his habit of reciting sayings, and looked out the window at the sun rising.

* * *

Mm…thanks for reading, reviewing, alerting, favouriting and anything else I can thank you for!! 


	4. Back to Normal

Edit: I actually uploaded this a few days ago...but I forgot to post it...and today I found it and I'm like, "WAH!! I FORGOT!!!"...so yeah...

I don't get the Sasuke-teme thing. Doesn't '-teme' mean more like, 'you bastard'? I mean, it's not 'bastard', right? So in english, wouldn't it turn into 'Sasuke-you-bastard'?

This one has mild (well, ok, maybe not mild) silliness in it, you have been warned. I apologise if it offends you (the fact that this has humour in it, I mean...I dun thikn anyone here would be offended by team seven's friendly bantering??)

Note: the Ita-ta-ta-ta...ta...ta...that appears in this story means 'ow'...

* * *

Chapter 4

None of them, with the exception of Naruto, had gone back home last night. It was all fairly obvious to all of them, as Naruto was the only one who didn't look like twice a panda (…) and…

"Ewww! Sasuke-teme! You stink! Go away!" Naruto made shooing motions with his hands, laughing. The pink and the duck-butt rolled their eyes. A while later Sakura cringed.

"Actually, I think Naruto's right." With that said, she flipped over the railings and dropped into the river with a loud 'splash'.

Sasuke blinked, frowning, before a pair of strong arms expertly flipped him over the red railing.

**SPLASH**

Naruto chuckled. _Ah, I love myself._

Sasuke scowled, before giving into the idea that yes, he looked like he had been living out on the streets for two days and that he didn't smell all that pleasant from the Anbu chase either. He began scrubbing himself, ignoring Sakura's chuckle as she claimed how cute it was to see a Sasuke-kun that didn't have a well defined six-pac. Instead, his clothes clung tightly to his body like nobody's business, showing how flat and smooth his twelve year old belly was.

"Shut up! I'll have my other body back in a week. Just you wait!" Sasuke growled.

"Hm do I have the pleasure of helping, Sasuke-kun?"

The three looked up.

"Kakashi-sensei!" yelled Naruto, giving him a wide grin. Of course, Kakashi. Only he can make a normal sentence like that sound dreadfully perverted.

"Ya" the silver haired jounin saluted.

Sakura and Sasuke looked up.

"You're late!" Sakura screamed, for old time's sake.

"Hai, hai…I fell into a construction ditch and got stuck by the cement, which dried immediately, so…"

He was silenced by two death glares.

A pregnant silence.

Awkward silence.

Suddenly, a laugh started to escape Naruto's throat, and he felt warmth prickling behind his eyes.

Everyone looked over at Naruto, who was laughing, but his cheeks were wet with tears.

"Uh…Naruto?"

Naruto kept laughing, wiping away his tears.

"Ehehe…sorry…it's just…it's like nothing…has changed from back then, ne? Everything's still the same…wah! I can't stop crying! Aha…hahaha…"

With that, the atmosphere changed. It felt almost friendly.

Kakashi spoke. "Ok, so, today, what do you guys want to do?"

Naruto shrugged, while Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other.

"Planning", they said at the same time. Kakashi nodded, while Naruto looked confused.

"Planning?" he echoed.

"Yes, planning" Sasuke dead-panned.

"Oh, planning"

"Planning"

"Did you say…planning?"

"I repeat, planning"

"Uh, plan-ITA…TA…ta...ta…ta…Sakura-chan" Naruto whined. Sakura retracted her fist, veins on her head.

"Good. Now, we have decided that since we came back into the past, there will be a recap on important events and how or if we can change them for the better"

"We have?" Naruto parroted blankly.

"Yes, we have"

"We have…"

"Naruto, don't start that again"

"Hai! Sakura-chan!"

"So what do we have first off?"

"We had the mission to Wave, then the Chuunin exams" Sasuke answered.

Naruto frowned, thinking that if they had been thrown back further into time, then they would have a chance to stop the Uchiha massacre…but then, Sasuke wouldn't be the lovable bastard he was now! Naruto quickly discarded that thought and turned back to the conversation.

"Good start, mission to the wave. What should happen this time? Remember; don't do anything that could unbalance the timeline too much" Sakura warned.

"When does it happen?"

Naruto and Kakashi watched the conversation between Sakura and Sasuke silently.

"Approximately two weeks from now. We'll have to keep check."

"Yeah. Naruto, what do you think?"

"He doesn't"

Naruto paused for a moment, ignoring the last remark. "I think," he stopped, waiting for the gasp. It never came. Ok, so this is serious business. "I think that this time we should try and let Haku and Zabuza live"

Everyone blinked. Naruto nodded, feeling the strain of bobbing his head up and down too much in one day.

"Like, they could keep roaming the world as rogue nins! Or we could get them back to Konoha and make them Konoha citizens!" (a/n Konohanians?...lol)

Team seven pondered this idea. Finally, Sakura nodded.

"Ok, this time we spare them. Now, chuunin exams. Our main threats are Orochimaru and Kabuto. We need to think of a plan, and find something strong enough to counter-attack, so Sandaime-sama doesn't die"

Kakashi cleared his throat. "But we still need Tsunade-sama". They thought about it.

Sakura, being the brain of the group, spoke up. "Well, After the Sand/Sound invasion, we could convince her to come back via a message from the third, which we will get, to help and make her see that Konoha needs her. Any variation on that plan can be discussed later"

The group of four all agreed on this idea.

"Hey…"

Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi looked over at the blonde.

"That means I'll see Gaara again!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

Sakura nodded. "Yes, that's right...anything else?"

"Ano…if everything changes, will I still have to go with ero-sennin to train for three years? Because I shouldn't know how to do the Rasengan right now…"

"We can always tell him" Sasuke said.

"Oh yeah! Let's!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically. Kakashi shook his head, unleaning his body from the rails.

"We'll consider that when the time comes. Remember that you're all still genin, and you still have to take on some D rank missions…let's go"

He didn't suppress the chuckle at the three simultaneous groans.

They didn't even have to _stage_ the whole I-want-a-C-rank-mission either.

By the time they had gone through cats that can camouflage, missing pigs that loved to roll around in manure, and chickens that followed him around chirping "mummy, mummy…", Naruto had enough.

"OLD MAN!" he hollered as soon as team seven came through the door to the room of the mission desk. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up.

"Uh…yes, Naruto?" Sarutobi returned, amused by the desperate eyebrow twitchings from Iruka to Naruto that the blonde didn't get.

"I don't want to do D-rank missions anymore! Look!" he reached a hand into his pocket and held out a little chicken, which immediately hopped onto the floor and faced Naruto.

"Mummy…mummy…"

"It's been bothering me for a week already! All six days I've had to put up with this little ball of yellow stuff…that eats all my ramen…"

There was silence for a while.

"…Naruto?"

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?"

"You do realise that there is seven days to a week, not six"

Naruto blinked, and scratched his head sheepishly.

"Ahaha…I knew that, Sakura-chan…I think…"

"Anyways," Sakura said, turning to the Sandaime, "Everyone in team sev…team Kakashi," she flashed a smile at their teacher, who, in turn, looked slightly surprised, but smiled back none the less, "feels the same. We want harder missions"

Kakashi decided that this time he should add his two cents. "If possible, Hokage-sama, can they have a mission that extends to outside the village, preferably, ah, _wave country_?"

Everyone nodded (save Sasuke, who gave a small "hn", and nothing else). The Sandaime smiled.

"Sure," (he smiled amiably at the two "Yatta!"s, one "heh", and a smile), "I have just the thing for you" he turned around to the Anbu standing behind him and said a few words, waving his hand around airily. The Anbu nodded and jumped out of the window.

"You will be going on a C-rank mission. You are guarding a fellow called Tazuna back to, coincidentally, Wave country. Any questions?"

"Yes" Naruto answered. All sets of eyes in the room snapped over to him. Naruto beamed at the attention, until Sakura snapped him out of it with a sharp slap to the back of his head. He laughed sheepishly.

"Um…yeah…old man, can you take care of this for me?" he asked, gesturing vaguely to the ground. The little yellow chicken, oblivious to all of the attention, was still hopping in circles around his feet, chirping "mummy…mummy…"

Sarutobi sweatdropped. "Of course, Naruto…ah, here comes our client"

Tazuna looked around at team seven, obviously drunk. "You mean, that short gaki over there is going to protect me?"

Naruto huffed indignantly. It wasn't any better the second time round! "You mean, that short drunk over there is the one that we're going to protect?"

Kakashi, ignoring the death glare match going on in front of him, turned to the rest of his team.

"Brilliant. Gates in an hour. Go."

* * *

…does anyone that have me on author alert still like me? I haven't updated some of my stories for close to a year hahaha…//sweatdrops//

…but I'm working on updating all of them right now, yes sir!

Please review!


	5. Mission to Wave!

Ya, two chapters I know, love me. //strikes pose//…hee hee…do other people get high from tea? Kenya green tea?

The beginning might be a bit confusing, but its fun if you keep up. Ha. XD

* * *

Chapter 5

The sky was nice and blue, little birds were chirping happily (normal bird noises, not 'mummy'…). It was all nice and everything…but Kakashi was just _slightly_ late to the gate…and Tazuna was getting slightly worried.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Don't you 'Sakura-chan me!"

"B-but…Sakura-chan!"

"Shut up, Naruto!"

"Shut up dobe"

"You shut up Sasuke- teme!"

"Dobe"

"Teme!"

"Dobe"

"TEME!"

"Both of you shut up!"

"Yo"

"YOU'RE LATE KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

The gates opened and they started walking out, the argument from before still ongoing.

"Yeah…uh…a little birdy…"

"Yeah, a little birdy what?"

"Shut up dobe"

"TEME!"

"A little birdy came…and…told me that Snoopy had fallen off his house"

"Oh!"

"Don't believe him you idiot!"

"Hai! Sakura-chan!"

"Shut up dobe"

"Both of you shut up!"

"Dobe"

"Teme!"

"Dobe!"

"TEME!!"

"Argh! I can't stand this anymore! SHANNARO!!!"

A shocked silence followed as Sakura's fist came into contact with both boys' head. Kakashi was confused.

"Shannaro?"

Sakura looked over at him, eyes wide. "Did I really say that, Kakashi-sensei?"

Everyone nodded solemnly. Sasuke broke the awkward tension.

"Sakura, I thought you said that you did not possess any more super-human strength?"

"It's a long story, Sasuke-kun"

"And we have all day, Sakura-chan!" Naruto chippered like the happy blob of energy he was. Sakura hesitated a moment.

"I'll try and make this short. You know how I have Inner Sakura?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, since it would take too long for me to train my body into that 'super-human state', and there would undoubtly be questions, I decided to train my inner Sakura via meditating. She now has almost a quarter of what strength I had…a while ago."

"So what attacked now was Inner Sakura"

"Yeah, hence the 'shannaro' just then"

Everyone nodded again. "I see"

Tazuna started getting scared.

"Anyways, onto more serious business" Kakashi said. Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke nodded, keeping their eyes trained on the ground. Tazuna noted what they were looking at and looked down too.

"Uh…is there something interesting on the ground?" he asked. Kakashi shut him up with a finger to his mask.

"Ah, I see it!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed. Sakura and Sasuke face faulted.

"Bakayaro! Don't announce things like that!" Sakura screeched as they neared the puddle.

"Ok, everyone in formation!" Naruto whispered. Kakashi and Tazuna blinked, confused. Sasuke reluctantly took the lead, while Sakura walked behind Sasuke, and Naruto, in turn, walked behind Sakura. Naruto held his hand up behind his back. Kakashi suddenly 'eh'-d, having an inkling of idea what they were going to do.

Three.

Two.

One.

"Wow! Look! There's a puddle!" Naruto yelled gleefully.

"Hn" grunted Sasuke, as he walked on it. It was slightly squishy, and he made sure to step down extra hard as he stepped in it. Sakura did a run up and jumped into the puddle, taking her time to jump up and down a few times.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said innocently, pointing at the puddle, "the puddle said 'ow'" Kakashi smiled.

"Did it now? So what do you suppose we should do?" he asked the blonde. Naruto grinned.

"Sakura-chan, I'm going to do a run-up too! I'm just gunna warn ya beforehand so you don't get pissed, okay?"

With that, Naruto took a serious stance, and began to run towards the ditch of 'water'. He took aim, raised a leg…and…KICK!

The two demon brothers howled with pain as they flew through the air. Meanwhile, Sasuke gathered up chakra in his throat and announced clearly, "Goukakyuu no jutsu"

The two men in mid-air had now turned into a ball of flames. Sakura smiled as she leapt up into the air and, using her super-human that she borrowed from Inner Sakura, punched down hard on the gigantic fire-ball, which flew at an unearthly speed towards the ground. Tazuna winced as he heard several 'crack's, undoubtly the bones of the enemy.

"Let's go, Tazuna-san" Kakashi said, waving his hands in front of the man's eyes. The bridge builder straightened up, looking a bit green. Now he would have to tell them why there was an attack when clearly, this should be a C-rank mission and…

"Tazuna-san?"

His eyes met the light grey of the jounin's.

"It's all good. We know of the situation in Wave and your bridge building thing, so relax, huh? We'll take care of it"

Tazuna was shocked. "Uh…um…y-yeah. Thank you"

Kakashi waved it off and took out a little orange book. Ah, how he missed it.

"Kakashi-sensei, we'll go ahead and…do something, ok? We'll meet you at Tazuna-san's house in two hours. If we're not there by that time…uh...don't worry about us anyway!"

Kakashi nodded.

"Ah, that's fine"

* * *

Ok, so this chapter is slightly short, but I didn't wanna give away what's gunna happen next chapter…so… (nothing interesting, I just dun wanna give it away!)

Sore…Ja! Review please //goes off to update other stories//


	6. A different way of handling things

a/n: Please note that I am a grammar freak, and I try not to make a grammatical error unless it's for the story. In this one, earlier on in the chapter, I will deliberately not use question marks. If you squint, you may figure out why from something that Sakura says.

Ah, and please note that I use the Japanese way of naming…names, last name first, given name last.

Ah, and also, just to prewarn you, just in case you get excited at the nonexistent fight. Guys, there is NO major fight. The fighting comes later, in the chuunin exams, which will probably be the next chapter.

* * *

A series of tapping could be heard.

'Sakura' a black haired youth tapped on the back of his hand, the metal strip of his gloves.

'Sasuke' the girl tapped back.

He gave her a glare. 'This isn't the time for jokes, did you manage to place the bug on him or not'

Sakura assumed that he was asking her a question, because question marks certainly not exist in tap-language.

She nodded. The other member of their team also started tapping. 'That's great, Sakura-chan! If it was me, I-' he was cut off by a series of rather louder sounding taps. Apparently Sasuke does not hesitate in being loud as long as it's not vocal.

'Naruto, do not tap unless necessary'. Naruto sighed (vocally), nodding.

'Where is your device taking us'

Sakura closed her eyes for a brief moment, before opening them again.

'That way' she tapped. The other two nodded, and quickened up their speed.

* * *

A petit boy with the appearance of a female let his hand wonder up to his face and gently took his mask off. Man, the mask was cold.

Zabuza, the other man in the room, looked up.

"How were they?"

Haku stood for a while, head bowed in thought, before he finally opened his mouth.

"I'm…not quite sure, to be honest, Zabuza-san. The demon brothers turned into a _puddle_," Haku said, a hint of disparity in his voice, "And they certainly noticed that. The jutsus they used were average, perhaps mid-genin to low chuunin level at best. Their taijutsu was average as well, but they didn't show much. What concerns me the most is the fact that Copy ninja Hatake Kakashi is with them-"

Zabuza interrupted with a small growl of excitement. Haku waited a moment, before continuing again.

"There was also something else which I don't know If I should be concerned about, and that is the fact that while their chakra levels don't seem to be high, I do sense some level of suppressing. I could not tell how many percent"

Haku finished, and lightly brushed his hair out of his eyes, waiting for his master to make a comment. Zabuza frowned and sat up, in a thinking pose.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.

"Haku, come here"

Haku obediently walked over and stood in front of him, slightly curious. Zabuza reached out a hand and lightly patted him down, before taking his back.

In his hands were two small, black devices. Haku's eyes widened fractionally.

"Trackers"

* * *

Sasuke flexed his hands slowly, and channeled chakra through his body. He nodded to himself.

Sakura and Naruto both noted this. It was an old habit to keep track of where and what the other two were doing. They tilted their head while looking at the Uchiha, indicating a question. It took a while, but Sasuke eventually responded, bringing his fingers to the metal plate on his gloves.

'My original strength is coming back gradually. I have about a quarter of what I used to had'.

Naruto and Sakura gaped. Sasuke tried to ignore their gazes burning into his back, to no avail. His fingers touched his gloves out of reflex.

'Try yours'

He was only too glad when their attention averted back to themselves. Naruto pushed a bit of chakra into his feet, and stumbled as the branch snapped.

'Me too'

Sakura, meanwhile, was getting irritated.

'Me too, but I estimate only about one tenth. Why is mine so slow?' she scowled.

Naruto adopted a thinking pose (!), and Sasuke looked at her briefly.

Suddenly, she stopped. It was obvious what the message was even without the tapping.

All three of them looked towards the small, barely descryable building.

* * *

"Aa…that's right. They must be good if they could place this on you without your notice." Zabuza said, still examining the small trackers.

Haku was torn between blushing at the praise, or blushing at the thought of failing his master.

"I-I'm sorry…"

What Zabuza opened his mouth to say, Haku didn't know as at that precise moment, the wall splintered into a million pieces, and something bright orange came bursting through. Haku blinked. _Those 56 pieces of wood used to build that wall…cost five hundred and sixty ryo…_

"Ya! Zabuza! Haku!" Naruto yelled. He was immediately silenced as his face met intimately with the ground, courtesy of Sakura's fist. Haku immediately stood up in a defensive position. Sasuke mentally acknowledged him. _Not a bad stance, no holes whatsoever. It will just be the problem of speed._

Zabuza eyed them warily.

Sakura scowled. "Naruto, behave!"

"Ma'am yes Ma'am!" Naruto quickly replied, jumping up. He grinned uncertainly when he saw Haku's defensive, yet at the same time offensive, stance.

"Chill, Haku-chan. We're not here to fight ya! Just to make a small deal." He told him, grinning. Zabuza stood up as well.

"Why should we believe you?" Haku asked, mask covering his pretty face once again. Naruto frowned in confusion.

"Whaddaya mean? Of course you can trust us!"

Sakura decided to take over at this point.

"Let us first discuss our options clearly, before attacking. You two are working under a man called Gatou," Haku's eyes widened, and Zabuza's narrowed, "and you are assuming that he is going to pay you money after you have killed Tazuna-san, who is our client. Basically, you're just here for the money."

Zabuza nodded slowly, and Haku remained motionless. Sakura took a deep breath and moved on.

"But what if we offered you a higher amount? If it isn't too much to ask, may we please know what the award for killing Tazuna-san is?"

Zabuza raised an eyebrow, before replying with an amused smile. "I highly doubt that you can afford that much, kunoichi. You've probably never seen so much money in your life."

Sasuke was starting to get irritated. "How much?" he demanded quietly.

Zabuza smirked. "Two million ryo" he said, amusement clear in his eyes. Sasuke sighed and took a scroll out of his pocket.

He bit his thumb, drawing blood, and let it flow on the scroll, following the kanji: 三 (three). A small 'puff' later, a suitcase appeared. Sasuke tossed it over to Zabuza, who gave it to Haku to check for traps.

Haku opened the suitcase, and gaped slightly. Then he realised that Zabuza was waiting for his answer.

"There is three million ryo in here…and it's real" Haku stated softly. Zabuza sat for a moment in silence before nodding.

"Fine. I will hold my end of the deal and not kill that old man, but under one condition"

Team Seven raised their eyebrows.

"I want to fight the Copy Ninja- Hatake Kakashi"

"Deal."

* * *

'Okay, so we go this way…and then that way, and then that-a-way, and then…'

Sakura quickly snatched the map off him and started to lead the way. After exchanging directions (with Team Seven wanting the directions to Gatou's hideout, and in turn telling Zabuza where Tazuna's house is), they split.

'Turn right here, and then left at the next river. There should be a sign somewhere soon'.

Sasuke nodded and quickened his pace, forcing the other two to keep up.

The building was…old. And there were people outside. They weren't very bright, though.

One of them grabbed Sasuke's arm as he walked past. Sasuke retaliated by slitting the man's throat, then sending a kunai flying, executing a perfect arc and slitting the throats of everyone guarding the outside. Naruto pouted.

It was obvious that there were security cameras outside, because when they opened the door, they were faced with a whole room full of men. Naruto grinned. "Oh shit" he said cheerfully.

Sasuke shook his head, and quietly announced, "134 people, no apparent chakra. Those that do have some have very little. Let's go"

With that, the three ninjas jumped into the room and drew out a kunai. By the time they were finished, they were covered in blood.

"Ewww" Sakura said, wiping blood from her forehead. Sasuke led them to the second level. Before they were about to open the door, Naruto spoke.

"Mou, Sasuke, how many more floors??"

"This is the second last one. Only samurais in here. Just watch out for their swords."

"Yessir"

Sasuke opened the door. Once again, they were faced with an army of people.

"What is this, 'The Tin Box' or something?" Naruto muttered off to once side, before joining the din. The new blood washed off the previous layer, which was slightly drying ("Ewww", Sakura said again). Sasuke stayed silent, while Naruto offered Sakura his handkerchief. Sasuke activated his Sharingan again.

"…this man…"

Naruto and Sakura leaned in to listen.

"…is an idiot."

They fell over. "A-ah, how so, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, sitting up and wiping off the dirt.

"He is weaker than the guards posted outside our first obstruction. I can kill him without having to use my hands at all."

Sasuke formed a few seals lazily. Blood from the ground started to gather around to form a dragon. At Sasuke's command, crashed through the wooden door and suffocated everyone inside.

Sasuke waited for the last scream and gurgle to subside, before sighing again and signaling the rest of his team to go.

"Frowning too much will give you premature wrinkles, Sasuke" Sakura admonished.

"Hn"

* * *

"Ah, Kakashi-sensei! How was your fight?" Sakura asked him as soon as he opened the door.

"Not as bloody as yours," Kakashi commented, eyeing their...bloody...state, "They left as soon as we finished. Good job, guys- anywhere you want to go tonight? I'll treat you"

"The onsen" they chorused, before turning around and heading towards the only onsen in the village.

* * *

Ok, this is not checked through, and a bit rushed, but I figured that you guys wanted the chapter. I dun usually make very noticeable mistakes anyways, I dun think…but I'm tired. The main thing is, I don't think that I can make it any better a second time round.

A note: If you're going to tell me that this chapter sucked and that you're never reading this again, please be tactful about it. I've been very irritable lately with lack of sleep, and I dun want something drastic to happen to some possession of mine that just happens to be in the way.

Next chapter will be up soon, because I've already planned and started it. I apologise for a short chapter. The next one might make up for it.

Haha…sorry for the practically no action in here, but I didn't want to do what everyone else does- the bridge fight. So, I changed it. You like? Or not?

And did you like my technique? I figured that if you just need liquid to do the water dragon, then blood can be blood dragon, right//sweatdrop//

Also, another note: I will not write the Kakashi/Zabuza fight. Main reason is because I don't think I can do it, what with my brain capacity and all - -;

I dun think you'll like this chapter, but I hope the next one will be more interesting, ne?

Thanks for reading-

Jaa!


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